The self-love of one's own body is the new goal that most men and women have set for themselves in this day and age. In an era of high obesity and low self-esteem, hundreds of Americans and people around the world struggle every day to love the bodies they live in. Before I came out, I existed in a very low point in my life. The world lacked color, and I hated every part of my body from my hips to my chest to the sharp feminine angles of my face (nowadays I like to think of my face as reminiscent of a Disney Villain. Be prepared). So many people would nudge me and tell me how beautiful I was and how I should love and appreciate the skin that I'm in! Pro-tip: if you know they're trans, avoid saying things like this. Many of us struggle with gender dysphoria. We can be painfully aware that our bodies don't match our minds, or what we believe we should look like according to society. Today, my dysphoria isn't nearly as bad as it used to be when I was in high school. I've got quite a few tricks up my sleeve as to how I learned to love this body, even if I may tweak it a bit later in life.
Accept the skin that you are in.
This is a tough first step, but try and relax and focus on each part of your body at a time. Start with your head and work your way down to your toes. This grounding technique will not only help you feel more at home in your own body, but will help you to familiarize yourself with it.
For trans folks, accepting the body you are in is usually hard — even for those of us without dysphoria. The pressure that society puts on us to be the ideal model of the gender we identify as is a crushing weight.
Wear what you want!
Those empowering posts with heavy-set cis women wearing bathing suits and crop tops always bring a smile to my face. You too can be as happy and free as those women. I wear a suit sometimes, even if its ill-fitting on my biologically female frame. I go swimming with an over-sized T-shirt and swim trunks despite the disgusted looks of those who don't know me. This is your skin, your body and it's the only one you'll ever have. Take care of it and celebrate it.
Take care of yourself.
Put bandages on cuts and make sure you shower. I know its hard sometimes to motivate yourself to even move out of bed, but you can do it. I believe in you. Loving your body is hard, but you can build up the self esteem you need to be happier in life. Take a bubble bath, go for a run, drink lots of water. Breathe, exist, live.
Know that one day, someone out there will kiss every inch of your skin.
Just breathe.
